You can't catch fish if you can't reach them...

...and not just with your casting.  The high country is unforgiving of physical inability.  Doubly so if you're fishing high country streams that are, as the saying goes, "all up and down." 

Doing quarter mile sprints along some deserted country road may not satisfy the soul like catching quarter pound trout, but that anaerobic work makes 8000' a tad easier to handle.  And it might even pay off in other ways; tomorrow I interview for a job as a personal trainer in town.  A chance to keep fit, help others get in shape, and make some money to throw at important things like student loans new fly line and other delights.  Hopes are high.

In unrelated news, I read over some old stream reports done by the hydro company here.  Turns out cutthroats and golden trout were planted in local creeks way, way back (1895, 1910, and 1937 being among the years listed).  Quite a stretch, admittedly, but some of those creeks have some pretty inaccessible stretches...

The summer destination list is quickly expanding.  Who knows what lurks in some long-forgotten pool on the side of a mountain?  I intend to find out.